SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency For more information To learn more about the EPA's indoor air testing in Kokomo, contact: For general questions: Teresa Jones Community Involvement Coordinator 312-886-0725 800-621-8431, Ext. 60725 j one s.teresa@epa.gov Patricia Krause Community Involvement Coordinator 312-886-9506 800-621-8431, Ext. 69506 krause.patricia@epa.gov For technical questions: Anita L. Boseman Oil-Scene Coordinator 312-886-6941 800-621-8431, Ext. 66941 boseman.anita@epa.gov EPA Chicago Office address: U.S. EPA Region 5 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 Website: www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/armstro ng/index.html Testing Scheduled June 24-28, 2013 EPA to Test Homes for Vapors; Access Agreements Needed Armstrong Bloomfield Neighborhood Site Kokomo, Indiana June 2013 During the week of June 24-28, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency workers will test indoor air at selected residential properties in your neighborhood for an environmental problem known as "'vapor intrusion." The tests will detect the presence of potentially harmful gases that may be moving up through the soil and into houses through cracks or holes in basements and crawl spaces. Selection of homes EPA will select the homes to be sampled based on: • Outdoor soil, soil gas and groundwater samples taken prior to indoor sampling. • Proximity to Markland Avenue Quarry, and Stites Cleaners. If your home was selected, EPA has contacted you. If the EPA has not contacted you, your home is not among those scheduled for testing the week of June 24-28. However, EPA may contact you for possible testing this summer. EPA needs your permission to do the testing, so you will be asked to sign a document called an "access agreement." This is voluntary, and there is no cost to homeowners. If you do not sign the agreement, your home will not be tested. Test procedures Technicians will take two air samples in the home. One device will be placed in the basement or if possible the crawl and another device will be placed in the living area of the home, such as the living room or kitchen (see photo, Page 2). If you have a basement, technicians may drill a small hole in the slab to install another device that will test the air under your house (see photo, Page J). They will repair the hole when the equipment is removed. Devices used to take air samples must remain in place for 24 hours. Air samples will be analyzed in a laboratory. It will take up to four months to get results. EPA will then provide test results to residents and owners and will share the information with the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which analyzes health risks. Background EPA collected soil, soil gas and groundwater samples in November at some Armstrong Bloomfield neighborhood homes. Those test results show the presence of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, at low levels. Therefore, no cleanup is necessary. However, EPA will continue to test homes in the area for possible vapor intrusion issues. ------- Equipment like this will be placed in basements to collect sub-slab air samples. Device used to collect indoor air samples inside a house. ------- |